Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Beating the Apartment Chubb

Just like I am on a mission to make myself into an overall healthier person I have a desire to pare down the things I have and get my apartment to shed a few excess pounds as well. This is my goal for July.

We all know the forumla for losing weight: what goes out has to exceed what is coming in. That is the only way that you can get rid of excess whether it be actual weight or clutter in your home. In my case, I am really good at getting rid of things, usually. I am always cleaning out my closet since it's basically a stress management technique, cleaning out and organizing relaxes me. Since I get rid of things all the time you would think that my clutter would be kept to a minimum but alas it is not. For the longest time I had no idea why. It wasn't until I started reading lifestyle blogs that I really got the point: I was bringing in more stuff than I was letting go. Plain and simple.

At first I didn't do much. The idea of putting my home on a "diet" was intriguing but not something that I ever put my full effort into so in return I never got much out of it. I would clean out my stuff with a judgmental eye (and at a time when I was feeling rather un-sentimental) and it would be great, invigorating, and inspiring. Getting rid of the things that I really don't need and are just there in excess really makes me feel lighter. But next thing I knew I was swimming in clothes, shoes, and magazines with bits of pieces of things in between and I was completely stressed out by my overwhelming amount of stuff that I didn't need. My apartment was yo-yo dieting.

What turned me around and got me to thinking seriously was this post by the Closet Therapist. (Don't you love it when something that someone else writes speaks directly to you!). This was exactly how I felt. It was about creating a simpler life and being the true, authentic you. It is real because it is not saying to deny yourself your wants in lieu of being a simpler person but rather do not let them define you and don't be reliant on them. I have always felt like I had an excess of "stuff" so I deemed this my biggest hurdle in starting to create a simpler life.

For me, all this starts at home. It is a place that I recharge, where I am most comfortable, and where all my things reside. It is the place that I start and end my days (mostly). So that's where I want to start. This goal is two-fold. My two for one challenge.

For the month of July I want to get rid of at least 100 things while at the same time refraining from any unnecessary shopping*. This will help me in my paring down goal as well as helping me to curb my shopping habit (and when I say habit, I mean it, it can get bad). And hey, that means more money that can be put into my savings this month, another perk!

This is all a part of re inventing my life, making it much simpler and less fussy.

* For the sake of keeping me honest (and not rationalizing a pair of killer heels as necessities) I define necessary purchases to be groceries (I still need to eat - although fast food is unnecessary so that goes), gas (I drive everywhere), the occasional necessary clothing item (as in I bought a pair of khaki trousers yesterday because my previous pair ripped through in the butt and that was the only pair I owned AND those are the color pants required at work)